I’m a sophomore who currently has a cumulative UW GPA of 3.32. My first semester (9th fall) was a 3.72, my second semester (9th spring) was a 3.32, and my third semester (10th fall) was a 2.73.
Got a B in Mandarin 1st semester freshman year (No reason for this except I was figuring out how the class worked)
Got a B in Biology, a B in Mandarin and a C in Math 2nd semester freshman year (I found out that I have a chronic illness that needs intense medication, and was unable to focus or cope with my emotions in a healthy way because of the transitionary period of this medication)
Got a B in Math, a C- in Mandarin and a D+ in Chemistry first semester sophomore year (Got sick with COVID on the first day of school and missed 3 weeks; I was very sick and still have lingering effects from this. My immune system dropped and I kept on leaving school early due to getting sick again and regularly fell asleep in class because I was so exhausted)
Is there anything I can do about this? How much will this hurt college admissions when it’s time for me to apply?
Other factors:
Got a 1510 on the PSAT with no prep this October
Am a varsity xc/tf athlete and have had coaches reach out to me about running in college
Self-taught Algebra 2, Precalc + Stats this summer, and am now taking AP Calc 2 years early
I go to a competitive private school (on a scholarship) which sends around 50-75% of their students to T30s
Am self-studying AP Psych this year, though I didn’t do any work when I was sick last semester
In the end, do what you can to keep your grades up.
Talk to your teachers. Make sure you are in the right classes for you at the right levels. Don’t take classes above your natural level just because friends are.
If you have learning needs, those should be addressed.
I think you are worried about the wrong thing.
Get your studies straight. Get your health right if you can as nothing matters more. There will be a college for you. Not necessarily top 30 but guess what…there’s hundreds or even more great colleges out there.
So self study will likely not help you. Running could if the coaches are telling you this.
And if 50% plus of your school is attending top 30 then you don’t go to a normal school.
So when it comes to college selection time, your GCs will be your best resource for schools that fit and not this group. In other words, your school is clearly elite abd over performs vs the norms.
I’d focus on getting your health condition stabilized, and getting the most out of your high school education. Things have a way of working out, when application time comes around, so that most people wind up at the right school for them, that matches their needs well.
The majority of grading at my school is based on homework completion + participation grades, not necessarily test scores. I’ve gotten an average of 99% on every Math test I’ve taken this year (that number was like 96% last year), I just wasn’t able to turn in that much work
Talk to your guidance counselor and your teachers and see if they will give you a break since you have been sick with COVID and dealing with the lingering effects.
If you keep on this trajectory with your GPA it will most likely hurt your college admissions at top 30 schools significantly. But you do have next semester to right the ship, so make sure you turn in every single assignment. You can’t do anything about your freshman year now, but you can definitely do something about sophomore year.
That said, there are plenty of great schools out there that will be more lenient about your circumstances. Your PSAT score is impressive.
Stop self-studying AP Psych! That is just taking away time that you should be doing your homework in the classes you have. Colleges would rather see you concentrate on the classes you are taking in school than self-studying an AP class. A lot of kids don’t even take the AP tests because colleges want to see the GPA rather than the AP score. Drop that self-study and do your homework.
Talk to your teachers and guidance counselors and participate in class and do your homework and you can probably salvage your GPA this year. If you get all As second semester you might be able to bring it up to a 3.4-ish area, which is a lot better than a 2.73.
–As others stated it is most important that you take care of any health issues, including your mental health.
–Your guidance counselor should be able to note some of your health issues/long absences in his/her recommendation letter when the time comes (assuming you have made him/her aware).
–Unless it is an area of personal interest and the class is not available at your HS, I would not bother self-studying for any APs – nobody will care. College admissions officers look for people to take coursework, not cram for an exam. This is particularly true for AP Psych which is considered one of the “easy” APs.
–The best person to talk to about college admissions would be the guidance counselor at your “competitive private school.”
–That said, colleges will focus on your transcript which includes both coursework level and grades. Work hard in the next years to improve your grades.
–If you are on scholarship at your HS then consider if you will need to focus your college search (when the time comes – not now) on schools that will be affordable.
–As I tell everyone when the time comes apply to a range of reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable and you will end up fine.
Totally agree that your physical and mental health is the priority. There is a college for you out there for sure! That is a great PSAT score and sounds like your XC running is getting noticed too. Keep your chin up and do those assignments and look after yourself and it will all come out fine.
Ah but the transcript for that course will be required submission when this student applies to colleges. It’s not like the grade in these courses won’t ever be seen by the adcoms.
I didn’t go to many XC meets this season, and my times were slower than last year (I did still place in the T3 in every meet I attended, including sectionals and state), but last year my times were low enough in XC season and TF season that I got calls from some coaches
Concentrate on your health and upward trend. Once you get back to training properly your times will get better but do you want to run in college? Agree with everyone else about self studying etc. Make sure you are on track with your classes and go to your teachers for help early. Nothing right now is more important then understanding the material present to you. Upward trend is your friend.